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Mary Poppins (1964)
In Disney's fantasy adaptation of the beloved P. L.
Travers children's books with an Oscar for Best Original Score, with
an amazing blending of live action with animated cartoon characters
- and audio animatronics (the robin) - winning a Special Effects
Academy Award:
- the title sequence in which Mary Poppins (Oscar-winner
Julie Andrews in her film debut) sat on a cloud over London with
her talking parrot-headed umbrella while applying makeup, and then
was summoned to the Banks household after the children wrote their
own advertisement for a kind and sweet nanny: ("Wanted, a
nanny for two adorable children...(sung) If you want this choice
position, have a cheery disposition...Rosy cheeks, no warts, play
games, all sort. You must be kind, you must be witty, very sweet
and fairly pretty, take us on outings, give us treats, sing songs,
bring sweets...")
- Poppins dropped down to 17 Cherry Tree Lane to be
the new Banks family nanny, by entering in at the window (the children
exclaimed: "It's her. It's the person. She's answered our
advertisement. Rosy cheeks and everything") - about 20 minutes
into the film
- the character of Mary's love interest - the carefree
Cockney sidewalk street artist (screever) Bert (Dick Van Dyke)
- the jump into a chalk sketch on the pavement that
took Mary, Bert and the Banks children into a cartoon world, where
they sang the catchy classic tune about a nonsense word:
"Super-califragilistic-expialidocious"
- the poignant singing of "Feed the Birds" (pigeons)
by Mary - with Jane Darwell (in her final screen appearance) as the
old bird woman at St. Paul's Cathedral
- the manic, fireworks-filled rooftops dance "Step
In Time" by Bert and his fellow chimney-sweeps - a huge Irish
jig dance number on rooftops while dodging fireworks and cannon-blasts
- the scene in which stodgy father Mr. George W. Banks
(David Tomlinson) told off his bank founder boss, the ancient Mr.
Dawes, Sr. (also Van Dyke): "Go fly a kite!"
- the other memorable songs including "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee"
(which won the Best Song Oscar), "A Spoonful of Sugar" and
the triumphant finale: "Let's Go Fly a Kite"
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"Super-califragilistic-expialidocious"
"Chim Chim Cheree"
"Step in Time"
"Feed the Birds"
"A Spoonful of Sugar" (With Anamatronic Robin)
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